Things To Do In Spring with Dogs

Samuel NievesMarch 24, 2014

It’s that time of the year again. Spring!

I dig it. The dogs dig it. Who doesn’t dig it?

With spring, you get the perfect blend of cold breezes with the right amount of heat. Perfect enough to break a sweat, but cool enough so that you don’t overheat. Since we have a mixture of long haired and short haired mutts, it allows the whole pack to travel just about anywhere.

Our pack consists of Standard Poodles, Pit Bulls, and all sorts of mixes! We love gathering other dog friends and hitting the great outdoors as soon as spring comes around.

Spring always stands out because of how great everything looks. Everything in the wild is perking up. Flowers especially. With fresh blooms you get lots of active humming birds (my favorite kind of bird). Flowers make me very happy now that I’m older (or maybe it’s embedded in my DNA since my Dad was a farmer). Southern California is a desert, so it’s rejuvenating to see some green and color around this time on our hikes.

There’s also nothing like walking along a trail and catching the fresh aroma of wild flowers. That, along with hummers chirping intensely.

Here in Southern California, most beaches and lakes are warm enough around spring. But we like saving the beach and lake trips for when it’s too hot for a hike or trail run. We’re able to trek farther and longer with less fatigue and no signs of overheating – both dog and human.

I thought it would be cool to show everyone the kind of dog adventures we tackle every spring. Hopefully our list can inspire you to do some of these things with your dog.

Reasons why spring is perfect for outdoor adventures

Most of the earth is soft from all the rainfall and melting snow. It’s cool and forgiving on dog pads.

Many dangerous plants, with prickly pods — foxtails and other prickly pods aren’t in the dry stage. Certain plants that cause harm to our dogs are in bloom and not too much of a nuisance until summer, early fall.

Cool temperatures. You know, clear skies, 65˚F, but this can be a totally different number throughout the states.

Things To Do

Hiking

There is no better time to go on a hike than spring time. The earth is soft (in most places) and dogs don’t overheat as easy. The best resting sports are under trees where the earth is still very cool and moist in some areas. Not to mention, there is a lot of moving water in some outdoor location from the melting snow.

Dog training

Training outdoors get intense during spring for us. The cool weather helps the dogs keep focus. The easiest way to break a dog’s focus is by quickly putting them in an environment they can’t tolerate. We can spend hours at a time outdoors without worrying of overheating or overworking our dogs.

Fishing with dogs

There’s nothing like taking your dog out fishing during spring. Whether you are stream fishing or lake fishing, I enjoy it because they can dogs around for the most part without overheating. Dogs get a good kick watching bass jump out of the water feeding on, too.

If you want to learn how to safely fish with your dog, you can learn so here.

Explore

There is no better time to explore the outdoors than in spring. Always understand that Mother Nature is unforgiving to those who aren’t prepared and so you should always be prepared for the outdoors with your dog. Be respectful of the environment and always be sure your dog is under control when exploring new outdoor locations.